The breathing space or impact of temporary protection on integration from the perspective of refugees

In July 2016, the Swedish government adopted temporary legislative changes to the asylum regulation in force, significantly limiting the possibilities of being granted a permanent residence permit. The temporary law was presented by the government as an incentive for the immigrants to focus on employment, which in its turn leads to permanent residence. This study exploits the impact of temporary protection on labour market integration and social inclusion from the perspective of refugees and subsidiary protection holders. Applying the ground research methods, the data was collected via the focus group and in-depth face-to-face interviews with both temporary and permanent protection holders. The main conclusion is that temporary residence hinders labour market integration of refugees and subsidiary protection holders in a long-term perspective, potentially leading to higher levels of social exclusion.